5 UX UI Design Trends for SaaS Apps

So, you’ve created an intuitive and visually appealing SaaS app? Kudos to you. But, don’t think your work ends there! Why? Because users are fickle-minded and new apps are being launched quicker than you can ask “What’s new?”. So what should you do to stand out among the 2.2 million apps on the Apple App Store and 2.8 million apps on Google Play Store? Keep reinventing the wheel and following the latest web and app design trends!

1. The Era of the Dark Mode

All popular apps such as Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp have already rolled out alternative themes where users can select between light and dark modes. There are relevant reasons why dark mode became immensely popular real fast:

• Imparts a sophisticated and ultra-modern appearance
• Highlighting other design elements becomes fuss-free with a dark background
• Low-battery consumption (smartphone users can breathe a sigh of relief)
• Low-light conditions reduce strain on the user’s eyes

We couldn’t stay away from the dark mode craze either, especially because it promises to be one of the hottest trends of 2021. You can see this in action in the Corpus ATV Platform that we helped design.

By keeping the background dark, we are encouraging a much better on-demand video and live TV viewing experience. With just the categories popping out, users can be less confused and more focused on what they wish to watch.

2. Biometric Authentication

Biometric authentication is a fancy way of saying ‘password-less login’.

How common is the scenario where you’ve forgotten your password? It happens to the best of us! But, what follows next is a harrowing tale of frustration and hair-pulling.

You know, what’s funny? Forgetting a password is not an issue from the user’s end, but the actual issue lies with password-setting protocols. Users must use to enter special characters, lower/upper case characters, and numbers – these make remembering passwords complex. They also have to frequently reset the password, which is obviously agonizing.

A simple solution to this would be doing away with password logins altogether and transitioning into password-less logins. Biometric authentication, a revolutionary web and app design trend, can help replace passwords with fingerprint or face authentication.

For example, you can complete all your App Store purchases using a fingerprint reader.

The password-less logins are one of the biggest web and app design trends to watch out for owing to their increased security (passwords can be easily hacked, but not your thumb impression).

3. The Rise of Air Gesture Control

Did you binge-watch Black Mirror? Then you were secretly hoping for air gesture-based interfaces to hit the market and how!

It also makes a lot of sense, especially for wearable tech. The screen is already so compact. If you try to put too many elements on it, you will just annoy your users. Nobody likes to look at an over-crowded (possibly, ugly) screen.

While gestures have been quite prominent on touchscreen devices for several years, 2021 is set to be the year for touch-less gestures. These are examples of NUI (Natural User Interface) and users can quickly learn how to control a device. Wave, pinch, expand – move your hand and you’ll master it in no time!

Microsoft’s Gesture Tracking System shows UI/UX designers the way forward. Users only have to wave their hands while facing the screen (a lot like what Tony Stark does!).

Source

4. Microinteractions

Unless you want to fall behind, you need to focus on the following Microinteractions and beef it up:

• Unique page flow animation, such as swipe
• Color changes for the app’s various moods
• Addictive animations wherever users have to go through lengthy processes. For instance, filling personal information or creating an account

Remember, the sole purpose of Microinteractions is to delight your users. When they’re happy, it’ll not take a lot of effort to nudge them toward your CTA and convince them to take the desired action.

Take the following snapshot from our portfolio, for example. Such animations not only improve the over experience but convey to the users that you care about the little things, keeping them coming back for more.

5. Neomorphism

Neomorphism, another promising web and app UX UI design trend in 2020-21, has created quite a buzz recently in the UI design world. Under this, the idea is to offer users the beautiful illusion of extruded shapes with outer and/or internal shadows that match with real-life objects. It is considered to be a new take on Skeuomorphism and its aesthetic is marked by real-looking, minimal UI.

With Neomorphism, you can achieve the following:

• Add realism to lifeless representations and make them appear more larger-than-life to grab the attention of users
• Create shapes that are raised from the background design so that they pop
• Achieve precision when it comes to details such as shadows, glow, and highlights

To put this in action, Neomorphism design can be seen in the Radio Player App by Alexander Plyuto.

With the design popping out, it makes it visually much more appealing and easy for users to quickly find what they’re looking for. Since 94% of impressions are related to design, Neomorphism is expected to stay and revolutionize the UI design industry.

To Conclude

In 2021, UX UI web and app design trends will be a combination of futuristic dark mode, one-of-a-kind Microinteractions, Neomorphism, touchless gestures, and password-less logins. The only way you can succeed and stay ahead of the curve is by catching-up and implementing different trends.

If you are seeking professional assistance to help you with the UI/UX design of your app, you can check out Divami’s comprehensive portfolio. We hope the work of our expert user experience designers are going to inspire you and help with your Saas app creation!